ESSENTIAL

GUIDE TO
READING
ASSIGNMENTS
IN NURSING

CHARMAINE PECSON SY, RN

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this 30-minute discussion, students are expected to:

01 recognize the importance of having reading assignments in

the development of their skills in reading comprehension
and writing (both academic and reflective);

02 identify ways on choosing the right article for the requirement;

03 discuss the different ways of improving summaries and

reactions; and

04 associate the skills learned during the making of the

reading assignment within the context of the nursing
profession.
 WHAT IS A
NURSING It is a solo written requirement
on an assigned topic pertinent to
READING? your current rotation. It could be
about a disease, a disorder, a
procedure or a treatment.

The process of making a reading

involves searching for an article
on your assigned topic that was
published during the specified
time frame, summarizing the
article’s content and writing your
reactions and thoughts about the
said article.
WHY ARE READINGS
IMPORTANT?
 IMPORTANCE OF READINGS

IT’S MORE THAT A LEARNING OPPORTUNITY

JUST A
REQUIREMENT OR
A PERCENTAGE OF DEVELOPMENT OF SKILLS SUCH AS READING
YOUR GRADE. COMPREHENSION AND ACADEMIC WRITING

A FORETASTE OF
NURSING RESEARCH
AN EXCELLENT READING
ALWAYS STARTS WITH AN
EXCELLENT ARTICLE.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE MOST APPROPRIATE ARTICLE

RELEVANT AND RECENT: topic

assigned should be related to
the current rotation and within
the time frame specified
HOW TO CHOOSE THE MOST APPROPRIATE ARTICLE

EMPIRICAL / EVIDENCE-BASED:
backed up by scientific research
and observation.

Scientific journals are highly

recommended.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE MOST APPROPRIATE ARTICLE

APPLICABLE TO NURSING
PRACTICE: Can this article
provide me additional
information / learning to my
current focus of rotation.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE MOST APPROPRIATE ARTICLE

DELIBERATE: choosing the

right article; intentional;
purposeful ; not just for the
sake of complying with the
given topic
HOW TO CHOOSE THE MOST APPROPRIATE ARTICLE

INSIGHTFUL: It must not only

be informative, but must give
you a new insight/perspective
about a topic.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE MOST APPROPRIATE ARTICLE

NOVEL: The information must

be new to you or challenges the
information you already have.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE MOST APPROPRIATE ARTICLE

GENERATIVE: Did it bring out a

new insight? A new skill,
behavior or perspective to you?
HOW TO CHOOSE THE MOST APPROPRIATE ARTICLE
RELEVANT AND RECENT

EMPIRICAL / EVIDENCE-BASED

APPLICABLE TO NURSING PRACTICE

DELIBERATE

INSIGHTFUL

NOVEL

GENERATIVE:
 HOW TO MAKE EXCELLENT SUMMARIES

01 DO NOT COPY AND PASTE!

THE SUMMARY
TAKES 65% OF 02 OF THE ARTICLE.
IDENTIFY THE SALIENT POINTS/HIGHLIGHTS

YOUR READING WRITE THE SUMMARY IN YOUR OWN

GRADE. 03 WORDS AND UNDERSTANDING.
PARAPHRASE.

04 MAKE YOUR SENTENCES CONCISE BUT

SUBSTANTIAL. AVOID RUN-ON SENTENCES.

05 DOWN INTO PARAGRAPHS.

ORGANIZE YOUR IDEAS. BREAK THEM
 HOW TO IMPROVE MAKING
REACTIONS

01 AVOID REPEATING YOUR SUMMARY.

THIS IS
DEFINITELY THE 02 AVOID USING INFORMAL LANGUAGE.
OWN IT! USE YOUR OWN WORDS BUT

EASIEST PART!
03 SHARE THE IMPACT THE ARTICLE HAS ON
YOU AND RELATE IT TO YOUR EXPERIENCES.

04 YOUR REACTION MUST BE LONGER

THAN YOUR SUMMARY.

05
HOW CAN YOU APPLY WHAT YOU
READ TO YOUR NURSING PRACTICE IN
THE PRESENT AND IN THE FUTURE?
 2
INFORMATION YOU NEED
CARRY OUT
TO KNOW: SPECIFIC
INSTRUCTIONS
1
EXTRA
ATTENTION
TO DETAILS 3
THINK
OUTSIDE
WRITTEN REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT
THE BOX
JUST PLAIN PAPERWORK. THEY HONE
YOUR COMPETENCIES BY DEVELOPING
YOUR WORK HABITS.
THE BEST TIME
TO IMPROVE
ONE’S SELF IS

NOW.

THANK YOU.